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The upcoming sci-fi extraction shooter, Bungie's much-anticipated project, has resurfaced with the news of a exclusive testing phase scheduled to take place soon.

A Rocky Development Journey

First announced during the 2023 gaming showcase, the game has undergone a bumpy development cycle. In October 2024, Bungie announced it was aiming to begin alpha testing during the coming year. A period of silence followed, until the game was showcased again in April with a planned September release. However, after some playtests resulted in mixed reactions, the studio revealed during summer that it was delaying Marathon indefinitely.

Avoiding Past Mistakes

Despite Marathon has already seen its fair share of issues, Bungie appears committed to make certain their project doesn't suffer the same outcome as other games. Currently, it appears the project's progress is moving forward again, as they just revealed that it has conducted multiple private tests to gather feedback on the game" since June of this year. The studio is expanding access, allowing more players to catch a glimpse of the experience via an forthcoming "closed technical test."

Technical Test Details

Considering it's a closed technical test, it's understandably more exclusive than, for example, an public test. To gain access in the exclusive trial — which takes place between October 22nd to Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. PDT — participants must satisfy the following requirements:

• Submit an application via the official website
• Live in Europe or North America
• Own a PlayStation 5, Xbox console, or Windows PC (minimum PC specs include an Intel Core i5-6600 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU, and 8GB RAM)
• Participate in their community platform
• Sign an NDA via the online community

Application Process

Registration is currently available, and to be considered for the technical test, applicants must submit their application by the October 16th deadline. PC users can also submit their application via Steam starting on October 13th, with Steam applications due by October 26th. Bungie will contact selected participants and provide details of the following procedures.

"This is an important checkpoint for us as we test our improvements since Marathon's Alpha, including multiple locations, five runner shells, proximity communication, re-tuned combat pacing, individual matchmaking, enhanced narrative elements, and additional features," Bungie stated. "That said, the current version is a development build and will only include a portion of what's intended for the game's final version, concentrating on the early player experience."

Additional Information

More info about the technical test and the actual experience can be located on the game's help page. But for players who don't qualify for the trial (or cannot participate), there's positive developments: The developer says a official announcement on the state of the game is the following item on the schedule once the trial concludes.

"We'll be sharing a comprehensive report on the game's progress in the coming months after the Closed Technical Test!" The studio shared.